International Climate Update Nov-Dec '13: Dominoes falling on public financing of coal, world leaders have their work cut out after Warsaw, & more

Below is a compilation of climate change and clean energy news from around the world. This compilation includes stories from Nov-Dec 2013. You can sign-up to receive these compilations in your email inbox.

DOMINOES FALLING ON PUBLIC FINANCING OF COAL PROJECTS

Since 2007, over $50 billion of public financing has supported coal projects through funding from development banks and international financial institutions in key countries. For these countries, the Japanese government is the mostly heavily invested, followed by the United States and Germany (see figure based upon preliminary NRDC data).

The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) has signaled that it will support new coal projects only in “rare and exceptional circumstances”. This is a significant reversal from their draft energy strategy which signaled no slowing down on coal financing. EBRD has funded over $660 million in coal financing since 2007.

These steps follow other important steps last month that signal that the era of public financing of coal projects may be coming to an end. Will the last dominoes fall at the German, Japanese, French, and South Korean public financing institutions?

CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS IN WARSAW: WORLD LEADERS HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM

As the climate negotiations in Warsaw began I pointed out in an op-ed that it's important to look ahead, while acting now. My colleague discussed how calls for action intensified in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. So as the negotiation wrapped up we took a look at the path ahead: the negotiations in Warsaw sent a clear signal to world leaders: you have your work cut out for you. Key countries must outline their proposed new emissions target for the period after 2020 before early 2015. They must come prepared to mobilize even more investment in climate action and adaptation in the developing world. And they must act aggressively now. This meeting provided the roadmap of where key countries must focus their attention in the coming months. As I said in my final statement: “World leaders better get their act together quickly. If they show up empty-handed in 2015 and don’t secure a strong international agreement, they’ll be known as the generation that clearly saw the growing threat of global climate change, and failed to try to stop it.”

A province in the heart of China’s rust belt has levied air pollution fines on city governments for the first time, in a sign that pressure to improve air quality in the world’s second-largest economy is trickling down to the local level (Wall Street Journal).

Emissions from coal plants in China were responsible for a quarter of a million premature deaths in 2011 and are damaging the health of hundreds of thousands of Chinese children, according to a new study (The Guardian). And this commentary discusses the new air pollution requirements in China and what it might mean for local air pollution and climate change (ChinaFAQs).

There is a renewed sense of optimism within India’s solar market sparked by the announcement of the Phase II guidelines of the National Solar Mission. However, the general consensus from key recent stakeholder gatherings is that obtaining financing for solar projects and reducing the cost of capital pose major obstacles to scaling solar in India. This led one of NRDC’s India Representatives to outline the challenges to reducing the cost of capital for solar financing in India. And two cities in India are to become “solar cities” according to the government (Times of India).

Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd. may fund as much as $401 million of renewable and energy-efficiency projects in India as costs for coal-based power prompt companies to turn to alternatives (Bloomberg).

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Here is the climate update from where I live: record cold temperatures, lows near 6 degrees, wind chill at zero and below, highs in the 20's. The normal low here in January is in the 30's. That is our climate report.

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Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.